Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 127 - 47: Reservists

Chapter 127: Chapter 47: Reservists

The Second Prince very wisely chose to remain silent.

As the commander of the operation, he couldn’t shirk responsibility for the failure of the attack, and it was likely to impact his evaluation, but that would amount to nothing more than criticism or having to write a self-critique.

Once the teacher dealt with the other problem, everything would return to its proper course.

He quietly memorized every face present, the Elder Princess must live, but the same could not be said for the other four.

And there were also several defiant deans from the Cloud Sea Academy.

They had originally planned to use the Cloud Sea Academy to announce to the world the consequences of opposing the Imperial Court.

This was also the outcome "Heaven" wanted to see, "Heaven" wanted stability on this planet, and its method was to remove any organization that was dissatisfied with the Extraterrestrials. After dealing with the Cloud Sea Academy, it would be Wangxu’s turn.

Meanwhile, inside the library.

Just as Duan Mingyuan was about to turn to the last page of "Dreamland Odd Talk," the sound of metal striking the floor came from the staircase.

"By using Dreamland, life energy was gathered together to create a temporary Barrier."

The voice sounded almost indistinguishable from Western Wind’s, likely processed through the same voice synthesizer.

It was precisely because of Dreamland that such bizarre phenomena occurred.

Mohawk thugs, bio-combat troops, and a board game club that sapped the will to fight of those in the Barrier, these were the chaotic thoughts of the students within Dreamland, now manifest in reality by the Barrier.

Breaking the Barrier was also quite simple.

One only needed to awaken all the students, and this dream would end.

Duan Mingyuan looked towards the source of the sound and saw an armored figure standing at the edge of the staircase, its red facial scanner pointing at him.

As the saying goes, laymen watch the excitement; professionals see the doorway. The Second Prince’s teacher, true to being a professional, immediately recognized the Blood Sacrifice Ritual that he had modified through "Dreamland Odd Talk."

"’Tian Yun,’ that is my codename."

The newcomer said, continuously observing Duan Mingyuan’s expression. The latter was not surprised by his arrival; rather, his stay in the library seemed to ensure that no one else would disturb him.

Was it the missing venomous character who had revealed his identity?

No.

Tian Yun quickly dismissed the thought. If it had been learned from the venomous character, then one would surely understand the power disparity between them and thus feel fear.

Duan Mingyuan looked more like someone who had dealt with other armor holders before.

"Is it Western Wind? He is one of the few ’Long Branch’ members who have recently visited this planet."

Western Wind was Bai Kou’s personal guard, who is currently missing for unknown reasons after having assassinated the supervisor and betrayed the Company.

According to the Council’s investigation, Duan Mingyuan had connections with Fu Ling, who had returned to the flagship a while ago and taken over as the supervisor of the Life Science Department.

What’s more intriguing is that this newly appointed supervisor showed favoritism towards a Blue Star person, providing none of the effective information demanded by the staff sent by the Council, such that for a time, the Council couldn’t confirm whether Duan Mingyuan’s sudden appearance at the Cloud Sea Academy was under the directive of the Life Science Department.

"Are you also a member of ’Long Branch’?"

Duan Mingyuan countered with a question instead of an answer.

The Life Energy Meter still couldn’t accurately read Tian Yun’s exact level, but compared with Cosmic Level powerhouse Western Wind, Tian Yun’s energy seemed much weaker.

There wasn’t that sense of oppression that could freeze an entire city.

"He’s a reserve member."

Both sides adopted a probing attitude, and seeing Duan Mingyuan not avoiding the topic of "Long Branch" and Western Wind, Tian Yun naturally regarded him as one of Fu Ling’s.

The company had blamed Bai Kou’s death on Wangxu’s attack but had not publicly disclosed the fact of Western Wind’s defection. How could a Blue Star person possibly know about Western Wind if not through Fu Ling’s connection?

"So it’s a reserve member."

Duan Mingyuan felt somewhat disappointed, but on second thought, it made sense.

Although the Second Prince was the heir to the Prime Monarch’s position, in the eyes of the Council, he was merely a pawn. How could they possibly assign a real member of "Long Branch" to stay by the Second Prince’s side?

Even within the company, those who enjoyed the personal protection of "Long Branch" were bigwigs at the level of department heads.

Duan Mingyuan had a reason for bringing the Second Prince’s teacher here alone.

Upon seeing Western Wind, he had taken a great interest in that suit of armor, but due to the special circumstances at the time and Western Wind’s formidable strength, they had no opportunity to study the armor. However, it was evident that the Universe Company had somehow transferred life energy that originally belonged to someone else into the armor, and this was why they kept expanding outward and looking for new energy carriers.

"According to company regulations, maintaining the political ecology of each planet is the job of the Cosmic Relations Coordination Department. Although the Life Science Department also operates on this planet, we established a clear set of guidelines at the time of its development, and you have no right to interfere with the internal affairs of the Imperial Court," said Tian Yun, rightfully taking Duan Mingyuan for one of Fu Ling’s.

If the methods of the Life Science Department were used, then gathering life energy could be explained.

In conclusion, Tian Yun added, "I can turn a blind eye to your department’s unauthorized research."

He couldn’t tell if Fu Ling was involved in this research, but merging life energy was undoubtedly in violation of the regulations. To maintain the stability of the Star Zones, the company had to strictly control the "energy" of each zone. And this method of gathering the energy of the weak undoubtedly posed the biggest obstacle to their stability policy.

The last thing the Cosmic Relations Coordination Department wanted was for the locals to unite.

When the natives have enough strength, it’s the time of war’s resurgence.

And that would be a major failure of the Cosmic Relations Coordination Department’s work.

Yunhai Academy was the perfect case in point.

If not for Duan Mingyuan’s intervention, aside from the three heads of the academy, the teachers and students stood no chance against Yin Die and would not be able to form an effective fighting force. They would take a ’divide and conquer’ approach, first capturing the weakest students as hostages to coerce the three heads. According to the Council’s assessment, by dawn, the academy would completely give up resistance.

It was Duan Mingyuan who gave these lambs awaiting slaughter the potential for rebellion.

"If Director Fu Ling doesn’t want this matter escalated to higher levels, I advise you to stop here. If the Life Science Department has any research facilities here, I can give you three days to arrange the withdrawal of the facilities and test subjects, but the three heads and the Elder Princess must stay," said Tian Yun, pausing before adding, "If you have any demands, feel free to state them. After the Council’s judgment, I will give you an answer."

"I do have one demand," said Duan Mingyuan, staring at Tian Yun, or more precisely, his armor. "Can you take off this suit of armor? Would you mind if I study it for a while?"

He thought this Long Branch reserve member seemed more approachable than Western Wind.

At least he hadn’t resorted to violence directly, instead, he invoked his superiors, trying to avoid conflict.

This was a good start.

After all, he was not some kind of ogre. If there was a possibility for a peaceful resolution, he was willing to take the approach of communication to solve the problem. "It won’t take long, just a day and I’ll return it to you, then you can safely descend the mountain with the Second Prince and those assassins."